Stuck? Write Like No One’s Watching
“Your only job is to start, however messy or dreamlike that start may be.”
Writer’s block isn’t just a lack of ideas; it’s often the paralyzing fear of judgment, both from within and from others. One way to bypass that fear is to escape the expectation that your writing must be “good”. Writing in a dream diary, for example, something that no one else will ever read, can offer a judgment-free zone. This simple act allows the mind to wander freely, to imagine without fear of criticism. Even if what you write seems strange, irrelevant, or absurd, that freedom can be deeply restorative for a blocked mind.
Interestingly, Yale psychologists Michael Barrios and Jerome Singer explored this idea through a unique experiment. They invited writers to engage in guided imagery sessions, designed to spark creativity. Participants sat in quiet, dimly lit rooms and were asked to visualize vivid, dreamlike scenes, such as a piece of music or a serene natural landscape. Afterward, they applied the same technique to visualize elements from their own writing projects, then crafted dream-inspired versions of those projects. The result? Writers began to reconnect with their imagination in surprising ways. The experiment lasted only two weeks but showed powerful promise for reigniting creative flow.
But it’s not just about dream imagery. According to Scott Barry Kaufman, psychologist and co-author of Wired to Create, any kind of creative activity can help unblock a writer. His advice? Just start writing…anything. Jot down ideas, thoughts, fragments, facts. Don’t worry about making it perfect. In fact, embracing imperfection and uncertainty is key.
Creativity, Kaufman reminds us, is not a straight line. It’s messy, nonlinear, and full of trial and error.
“When one feels writer’s block,” Kaufman says, “it’s good to just keep putting things down on paper ideas, knowledge, etc.” Through his work on The Psychology of Creative Writing, he’s come to believe that trusting the process (even when you don’t know where it’s going) is crucial. As he puts it, creative people rarely know exactly where they’re headed until they get there.
So the next time you’re staring down a blank page, remember: Your only job is to start, however messy, uncertain, or dreamlike that start may be. The words don’t need to be perfect. They just need to exist.